HackMD vs MarkText

HackMD9.1Visit MMarkText8.5Visit

Higher score HackMD #2 in Markdown Editors 9.1/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 0 of 3 features Visit HackMD

vs

M MarkText #5 in Markdown Editors 8.5/10 Free plan Free plan✓ 1 of 3 features Visit MarkText

• HackMD fits best

  Collaborative Markdown teams

• MarkText fits best

  Free cross-platform Markdown writing

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Side by side

Feature	HackMD 9.1/10 Visit ↗	MMarkText 8.5/10 Visit ↗
At a glance
Editor score	9.1	8.5
Ranking	#2 in Markdown Editors	#5 in Markdown Editors
Best for	Collaborative Markdown teams	Free cross-platform Markdown writing
Pricing model	Free plan + paid	Free
Starting price	$5/seat/mo	Free plan
Free plan	✓	✓
Free trial	—	—
Deployment	Cloud, Self-hosted, Browser extension	Desktop
Platforms	Web, Chrome extension	Windows, macOS, Linux
Support	Email, Community, Docs	Community, Docs
Built for	Solo, Small business, Mid-market, Enterprise	Solo, Small business, Mid-market
Features HackMD 0/3 · MarkText 1/3
Real-time collaboration	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Cloud sync	Not checked yet	Not checked yet
Local file support	Not checked yet	✓ (best)
Specs
Supported platforms	Not checked yet	windows, macos, linux
Export formats	Not checked yet	HTML, PDF
Publishing workflow	Not checked yet	None
Markdown flavor	Not checked yet	Custom
Our review
Pros	Real-time editing with comments, mentions, and multiple cursors GitHub synchronization plus Dropbox, Google Drive, and Arweave transfers API, CLI, MCP, browser extensions, publishing, and version recovery	Realtime WYSIWYG and source-code editing modes CommonMark, GFM, math, tables, and diagrams Free, open source, and available on three desktop platforms
Cons	Free plan supports up to 3 teammates and 3 invitees Free version history is limited to the recent 10 versions Native app coverage is centered on the web experience	No built-in publishing workflow Desktop, local-file workflow rather than cloud collaboration HTML and PDF are the listed export formats
Our verdict	HackMD is a web-based collaborative Markdown workspace for teams, developers, researchers, communities, and open-source projects. It supports simultaneous editing with multiple cursors, comments, mentions, templates, shared workspaces,… Read the review →	MarkText is a free, open-source desktop Markdown editor for writers, developers, and documentation teams who prefer working with local files. It runs on Windows, macOS, and Linux, combining realtime WYSIWYG rendering with a source-code… Read the review →

Strengths and trade-offs

• HackMD — where it wins

  • Real-time editing with comments, mentions, and multiple cursors
  • GitHub synchronization plus Dropbox, Google Drive, and Arweave transfers
  • API, CLI, MCP, browser extensions, publishing, and version recovery

  Where it doesn't

  • Free plan supports up to 3 teammates and 3 invitees
  • Free version history is limited to the recent 10 versions
  • Native app coverage is centered on the web experience

• MarkText — where it wins

  • Realtime WYSIWYG and source-code editing modes
  • CommonMark, GFM, math, tables, and diagrams
  • Free, open source, and available on three desktop platforms

  Where it doesn't

  • No built-in publishing workflow
  • Desktop, local-file workflow rather than cloud collaboration
  • HTML and PDF are the listed export formats

• HackMD9.1/10 · Free plan

  A capable collaborative Markdown workspace with strong GitHub and publishing workflows.

  Visit HackMDFull verdict →
• MMarkText8.5/10 · Free plan

  A free desktop Markdown editor with visual editing, source mode, and local file tools.

  Visit MarkTextFull verdict →